All 50 States Had at Least One Location Below Freezing; Takata Recalls; Terrorist Attack in Jerusalem; National Guard and Protesters Wait for Grand Jury Decision in Ferguson; State Prosecutors Watching Hard Porn on State Computers; More Allegations against Bill Cosby

Aired November 18, 2014 - 20:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

We have breaking news on every front tonight including what could be a truly massive auto recall affecting millions of vehicles in almost certainly your safety.

Breaking news on the weather as well. Parts of upstate New York now under two feet of snow, three feet, four feet in places with nearly six feet now in the forecast. And it is still coming down as we speak.

Also, what began with the massacre of four rabbis, including three Americans at prayer in a Jerusalem synagogue has now claimed another life. and is threatening to ignite a religious powder keg.

We begin here at home. When we start stories about crazy cold, it usually goes something like much of the country is in a deep freeze. But tonight, we can actually say that all of the country is in a deep freeze.

This morning, all 50 states had at least one location that was below freezing, even Hawaii. They're getting the worst of things, though, in and around Buffalo, New York where arctic air and the great lakes have come together in a way that stands out, even for this part of the country.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo has declared a state of emergency throughout the area and called in the National Guard. Our Martin Savidge is battling the elements there for us right now.

Martin, you're right in the thick of things, one of the hardest hit areas of Buffalo. Just describe to our viewers how bad it is there.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This is the south of Buffalo, Jim. And actually, we're on the edge of really the real bad area. You can't even get into that. I wanted to show you the snow pile here only because, one, it's huge, it's got to be up to 10, maybe 12 feet in height. There was no snow here at all yesterday. This is all that is coming in the past 24 hours.

Now yes, that was stacked up there by the plows, but the rest of it here, this is all that has been falling, mostly today. It started late last night but it's been piling up ever since. And, again, this is not the worst area. You cannot get into the hardest hit areas, driving bans are in place, roads blocks are there to enforce it. And even if you made it through the road ways are clogged by vehicles that have been abandoned. And the emergency crews can't get through to remove them. They're trying.

This is considered to be extremely hazardous tonight. Wind gusts 30- plus miles an hour, wind chills below zero and the snow keeps piling. Lake effect is odd. You can now have a clear moment like this, 30 seconds to a minute later, sudden whiteout. It's like that in many areas south of Buffalo. Major through ways are closed down, trucks and people are trapped. And if you're in a vehicle, authorities say even if you're out of gas tonight, do not abandon it, it's just too dangerous -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: You know, I can hear the cold in your voice and that pace you describe is just incredible. Can you explain how exactly lake- effect snow is different from a traditional snowstorm?

SAVIDGE: Lake-effect snow is something that usually comes this time of year. You need an open body of water. In other words, once the lakes freeze over, they aren't the supply of the snow machine they're creating here. But what it is, is you get very cold temperature moving across a relatively warm body of water, in this case lake Erie at about 40-some degrees.

As long as the wind blows, it's going to snow, and it's blowing like a freight train. And it looks like it's going to continue this way off and on through Friday. But it's a very narrow area, maybe 20 miles wide. If you're in north Buffalo, you might have a dusting. If you're here, you could have five feet or more by tomorrow, six feet. And they say later in the week another 30 inches. That's 90 plus inches, staggering even by a Buffalo measure -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: That's incredible. We feel your pain, Martin. And, again, it's only November. Thanks very much on CNN in Buffalo.

So, is there any relief in sight? We want to get the latest from meteorologist Chad Myers. He is at the CNN weather center. Chad, you know, I can't believe I'm saying this after seeing Martin in all that snow in Buffalo. But Buffalo should be gearing up for round two now, is that right?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. It's going to snow tonight. It is going to stop tomorrow and it is going to kick back up on Thursday. And we don't know where that 20 to 30 additional snow would be. Could be farther north, could be farther south. But there's a potential for somebody, some area to have seven or eight feet by the time it's done.

Every single state this morning had one city or more below freezing, even Hawaii. The top (INAUDIBLE) was 31 degrees. Obviously, you get to flagstaff it was 13, Pensacola was down below 32 for almost all night. But where I grew up, Cheektowaga, New York, the winner or the loser,

depending on your point of view, 51 inches of snow in less than 24 hours. Now, from the Buffalo airport to Lancaster, not that far from Cheektowaga, there was a difference between three inches and 42 inches of snow at one point today. What a dramatic from what you saw like sunshine on one side of the street and below and cold on the other.

Now, it warms up a little bit on Saturday. But here comes thanksgiving and here comes another cold shot all the way across the eastern part of the country. A lot of people are going to be driving in this weather. Tonight, we still know that people are stranded on the thruway, on some of their highways out there. Buses are stranded. You need to stay with the vehicles, just like Marty said. The wind chills out there are so cold tonight. You don't want to be venturing out in whiteout conditions and not really even knowing where you're going. And make sure the pets are safe, too. They can't be out very long. And they can get lost in 51 inches of snow. So, keep that in mind, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Only nine days to thanksgiving. I'm imagining that travel day in weather like this.

Chad Myers, thanks very much from the weather center.

Now, the recall story involving your safety and a truly staggering number of cars and trucks, millions of vehicles in all from ten different car makers, any which could have an airbag in it prime to explode, explode and shoot sharp pieces of metal at drivers and passengers instead of saving lives. People may have already died from them. Late today, federal safety authorities took new action.

Rene Marsh has been working the story and joins us now with all the details.

So Rene, these airbags, and you've described them to me before, but what makes them so wrong exactly and how big could this recall have just gotten?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, it just got potentially very large here. We're talking about in NHTSA's estimate, millions and millions of additional cars are recalled here. Here is the issue. These exploding airbags, they are shooting out in some cases metal shrapnel and in some cases it's caused injuries and it's been reported it has caused deaths as well.

Up until now, there have been eight million vehicles recalled by ten different automakers. But this recall up until now has been very specific. They were looking at vehicles in hot and humid states because they felt that the humidity triggered this defect.

But today, just hours ago, NHTSA came forward and they said they're demanding that the manufacturer of airbag, as well as the automakers expand this even wider. Meaning, don't only recall vehicles in hot and humid states, but recall vehicles nationwide, Jim.

We do know from NHTSA that Takata, the manufacturer of these airbags, they are resisting this nationwide recall. But NHTSA says that it will put the pressure on to make sure that everyone who is concerned about this airbag gets it fix.

SCIUTTO: It is incredible that they thought climate might play a role in lessening the risk in the north versus the south. But now that they have expanded it, which automakers exactly are we talking about here? Because I know people at home want to know if it affects their car.

MARSH: So, on top of the ten automaker that's we know already have issued recalls because of this issue. Today, we know that they are looking specifically at Ford, Honda, Chrysler, Mazda, as well as BMW. These are vehicles made before 2008. So that's the focus of this new recall that we're hearing from NHTSA.

SCIUTTO: All right, well, it is easy for our viewers to take note of that at home.

Rene Marsh, thanks very much once again.

MARSH: Sure.

SCIUTTO: As always, a quick reminder. Make sure to set your DVR so you can watch "360" whenever you like.

And coming up next, breaking news in the killing of four rabbis, three who are Americans in a Jerusalem synagogue. The death toll is growing, the tension is rising. The latest when "360" continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back.

There is more breaking news tonight in a part of the world that has already seen too much of it today, especially the tragic variety. The rampage at a Jerusalem synagogue and the shoot-out that followed has claimed a fifth victim now. A policeman wounded in the attack as died and tension in Jerusalem tonight could scarcely be higher. Four rabbis are dead, three Americans, one British. President Obama today called for calm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Too many Israelis have died, too many Palestinians have died. And at this difficult time, I think it's important for both Palestinians and Israelis to work together to lower tensions and to the death violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: That is growing difficult.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is promising to crack down hard in response. And on the Palestinian side, some see this latest gruesome attack as retaliation for Israeli attacks against them. But also as a new skirmish in a sectarian war that they believe they can win. Before we go further, though, a warning. Some of what you're about to

see is difficult to see to stomach on many levels.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

SCIUTTO: The attackers took Palestinian cousins struck at 7:00 a.m., morning prayer in this orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem. They were armed with the guns and butcher knives. When they went into the synagogue, taking aim at anyone they could.

When police arrived, just minutes later, four people were dead, eight other were wounded, including an officer shot during the shootout that followed. He is subsequently died and at the killers. This comes as just the latest in a string of attacks on Israelis seemingly carried out by lone wolves, as well as alleged reprisal attacks on Palestinians.

Given all that's been happening, the natural question is what happens now?

Joining us, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev and Middle East scholar Aaron David Miller of the Woodrow Wilson international center. Mr. Miller was advised Democratic and Republican secretaries of state on the region. He is also the recent author of the "End of greatness, why America can't and doesn't want to have another great president."

So Mark Regev, if I could start with you. Is there any indication of involvement from Hamas, for instance, in either organizing or funding or supporting this attack in any way?

MARK REGEV, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: I, at this stage, cannot point with certainty to a specific involvement, a specific terrorist organization that gave a specific order. I do know the following:

I do know that groups like Hamas, like Islamic jihad and unfortunately also the Palestinian authority have been praising these sort of attacks, have been putting these sort of murders up on a pedestal, and that there is a culture being tormented by these Palestinian groups and unfortunately also by the P.A., which lends support to hatred and violence in conducting these sort of terrible murders.

SCIUTTO: Aaron David Miller, you've made the point that there are extremists, far right politicians in the Israeli government, who are attempting to change the status quo on what's known as the temple mount in Israel, but the holy sanctuary (INAUDIBLE) by Muslims, to try to change the status quo there. Is it your position that those far right politicians contribute to this atmosphere of violence?

AARON DAVID MILLER, VICE PRESIDENT, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: Yes. Let me just say first, Jim, there's no rationalization or justification for what occurred today. It was a willful act of terror and frankly probably wasn't lone Wolf either. I mean, there were at least two, maybe three.

So my explanation as an analyst isn't an effort to justify. There is no justification for this. If you ask me why is this happening now, I think you've got a perfect storm of events. You've got the events this summer, the blood is up among both Israeli and Palestinians. Gaza is now quiet, Jerusalem affords an outlet for Israeli/Palestinian contact. And I suspect there is a grew growing among the Palestinians. I do not believe it is an intentional policy of the prime minister of Israel to change the status quo on (INAUDIBLE).

But some of the ministers, some of the Knesset members are in fact dedicated and determined at least to create a political atmosphere. So, yes, if you ask me is this part of the storm here in addition to the incitement of Hamas and very unwise words on the part of the Palestinian authority, yes.

Part of this is, in fact, a consequence of the perception among Palestinians that there has been or is an ongoing effort to somehow change the status of these religious sites. And perhaps Jerusalem as well. So, yes, I think it is part of the picture.

SCIUTTO: Mark Regev, I want to give you a chance to respond. And again, to be clear, I'm not creating a false moral equivalence here. But I just wonder as both sides look for a way forward, which is the message from the White House, finding a way forward to calm these tensions.

Do you believe that there's any validity to that argument, that there are some -- that you need, in effect, calming statements from both sides now?

REGEV: But my prime minister has repeatedly, as the leader of Israel, has repeatedly said that there will be no change to the status quo on the temple mount. Now, it's true you do have voices in Israel, minority voices that want that changed, but the prime minister speaking in the name of the government. He has said unequivocally and repeatedly. we won't allow a change, we won't support any change. We are committed to the religious status quo, whereby Muslims can pray there and non-Muslims, Christians and Jews can visit.

Now, we are very steadfast and that's not going to change. What's the problem is that you have these radical Islamist groups that come out with all these -- how shall I say it -- this language, this rhetoric where they say the Jews are threatening the temple mount, the Jews are out to destroy the Muslim holy sites. It's ridiculous.

Nothing could be further from the truth but this gets out there and out there. And unfortunately, it's believed by some. And what was particularly disturbing, as Miller just said, is that you saw some of this being repeated by Palestinian leaders who consider themselves mainstream leaders. I mean, if president Abbas says that the Jews are polluting or desecrating the temple mount, that's language that is very, very problematic. It's not true. The government of Israel has no such intention, yet this libel is repeated and repeated until some people, unfortunately, believe it.

SCIUTTO: Mark Regev, Aaron David Miller, thanks very much for your time.

MILLER: Thank you. REGEV: My pleasure.

SCIUTTO: As always, you can find a lot more on this and many other story at CNN.com.

Just ahead, though, breaking news about Officer Darren Wilson. A newly released video appear to show Wilson threatening to arrest the man last year for videotaping him, which by the way, isn't illegal.

Also ahead, what Ferguson is going tonight to prepare for the protest everyone is expecting if Officer Wilson is not indicted in the death of Michael Brown.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Breaking news tonight in Ferguson, Missouri. We haven't seen or heard from officer Darren Wilson since he shot and killed Michael Brown. Tonight, though, a newly released cell phone video appears to show Officer Wilson threatening to arrest another man for videotaping him back in October 2013. Officer Wilson showed up at the man's house to check out a complaint about derelict vehicles on his property.

Here is CNN's Sara Sidner.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your name, sir?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is video posted by a Ferguson resident who says that is officer Darren Wilson. CNN obtained of at least incident report from October 2013 that shows Wilson is the officer who responded to the home of Michael Arman for a follow up investigation on derelict vehicles. Wilson wrote in the report that resident Arman removed his cell phone and began recording.

This is what the resident posted on You Tube, a brief but confrontational interaction with the officers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE OFFICER: If you want to take a picture one more time, I'm, going to lock you (bleep) up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, I'm not taking a picture. I'm recording this incident, sir. Do I not have the right to record?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE OFFICER: No, you don't.

SIDNER: The police report shows Michael Arman was eventually arrested on other charges. The city of Ferguson would not confirm that it is Officer Darren Wilson, citing the poor quality of the video. The ACLU said no matter which officer that is what he said was improper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You cannot interfere with the officer's action. But absent that, you have an absolute right to make a document, a recording, of interaction with the government official. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Sara joins us now from Ferguson, Missouri. Sara, you get the sense that the neighborhood there, the community, is such a pressure cooker right now. What are people saying about the video?

SIDNER: Look, a lot of people are talking about it. Some people are talking about the fact that they feel like it shows the character of some of the folks in the department. There are a lot of folks who really do think that is Officer Darren Wilson himself. And, as you know, Wilson is the officer who the grand jury is looking into whether or not to indict him for the killing of Michael Brown.

It kind of adds a bit more fuel to the fire, people talking about the way that he handled that situation and the words that he used in that situation.

You know, I also want to tell you a little bit about after the governor basically went and declared a state of emergency here. We did notice that more businesses have decided to board up. There is certainly worry that things are going to explode in violence.

However, the protesters have said time and again that they are planning peaceful protests, though they will be quite loud, as they have been over the past 90-plus days -- Jim.

Coming up next, along those lines, protesters in Ferguson gearing up what they expect will be the decision not to indict Officer Wilson.

Also, a real shocker, Pennsylvania's top prosecutors said dozens of state officials, many who helped put infamous child molester Jerry Sandusky in jail have been caught exchanging pornographic emails. We are going to dig deeper right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: And more tonight on efforts under way in and around Ferguson to prepare for that grand jury's decision. As you know, the National Guard has been activated and law enforcement is gearing up. Preparations, though, are also in full swing on the protest side. Stephanie Elam reports from Ferguson now.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Protesters are gearing up to react, staging dry runs of peaceful demonstrations, like this one in Clayton, Missouri.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not waiting on the decision. We're prepping for the future, even after this decision.

ELAM: A sign of the times, these activists connect via social media and text blasts. For weeks throughout the St. Louis area, they have held meetings to prepare for the grand jury's decision. The people I spoke with don't think Wilson will be indicted.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he was going to be brought up on charges, they would have done it the week that Michael Brown was killed.

ELAM: It's clear these protesters are organized.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That' where we are going to do the ....

ELAM: Just take a look at this wedding registry set up on Amazon for supporters to buy them supplies, like surgical masks, cameras and swim goggles. But determining who is in charge is a challenge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are always looking for so who is the leader? Everyone is. We're all very active and we all take our roles very seriously.

ELAM: Max Peterson came all the way from Seattle to participate in the demonstrations. He's staying at a house with other protesters.

(on camera): Why does a young white guy from Seattle feel motivated to come to St. Louis and be here for a month for this?

MAX PETERSON: I didn't understand before August 9th how oppressed black people are in this country. I am white, so it's not my struggle, but I'm here to help them out.

ELAM (voice over): When a lone Darren Wilson supporter showed up at this pro-Michael Brown rally, a shouting match ensued. Yet for some people in Ferguson, it's less about Wilson and more about the protesters' response. This white resident is afraid to show her face on camera because she fears retaliation for speaking her mind about the protests. She doesn't appreciate out of towners disrupting life for the people who live here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If there's peaceful demonstrations, that's fine. But to have the violence that we've had and from people that are outside of Ferguson in the name of Ferguson, no, we don't like that.

ELAM (on camera): I know you're saying buying groceries but how long are you preparing for?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Several days. I think that we need to plan and have those plans in place. But hopefully we won't need it. I hope that we can return to a normal life someday. And I don't -- after the rioting has gone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Stephanie Elam joins us now from Ferguson. Stephanie, there was a moment in that piece where you had the supporter of Officer Wilson clashing with the protesters there. And you get a sense of just that - the rawness of that emotion. With all these preparation that we're seeing on both sides, do you have a sense there that both sides are preparing enough to keep those emotions under wraps when that decision comes through?

ELAM: That's the million dollar question at this point, Jim. You hear people preparing, you hear them talking about what needs to be done. And one thing that keeps coming up when you talk to the protesters is we don't want something small escalating into something big because police overreact.

And then when you talk to the people who live here in Ferguson, they say they want to know more about what the police have in store, what they're planning to do if things do escalate. They want more information, but obviously there's a disconnect right now because no one wants to show their cards ahead of this grand jury decision coming to light, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, Stephanie Elam, thanks very much for being there on the ground for us. More now on the law enforcement side and their notion of preparing for the worst. Some call it sensible, others see it as overkill. St. Louis Alderman Antonio French for one who tweeted and I'm quoting here, "The National Guard is called in when policing has failed. Military presence in my city will mark an historic failure on the part of government." And moments later, this: "This started on August, 9 with government overreaction to black youth and it continues. This not a war, there is no military solution." Alderman French joins us tonight along with Reverend Robert White, pastor of the local Peace of Mind Church of Happiness.

Antonio, I'd like to start with you. I want to ask you to explain why you believe that calling in the National Guard means that policing has failed. Do you see this as a military response like we saw just after the shooting?

ANTONIO FRENCH, ST. LOUIS ALDERMAN: Yeah, so what I worry is that we may be repeating some of the mistakes that we saw back in August. We want police to deal with individuals who commit individual crimes and not punish entire crowds of people like we saw back in August. I worry that the military presence of National Guardsmen will actually escalate the situation as we saw occur several times back in the early summer.

SCIUTTO: Pastor White, I wonder, because when you look at the FBI bulletin issued, it warns about individuals infiltrating, exploiting the demonstrations to quote, in the words of the bulletin incite and engage in violence. That was something you saw in August. People from outside of the community inciting chaos as the protest. I wonder, how concerned are you that that will happen again?

REV. ROBERT WHITE, PEACE OF MIND CHURCH OF HAPPINESS: Well, a little concerned that it could happen again. But I agree with Antonio, more concerned with the response of our military being on the ground. I mean, our government, our law enforcement agencies are more than capable of finding out who those individuals are and preventing them from being a part of this protest. They've made it very clear that the majority of the protesters are peaceful, and so why would you have a military response to 95, 96 percent of the people who are peaceful?

SCIUTTO: To that point, Antonio, you also tweeted earlier today that, quote, in your words, "It is hard to keep people calm when officials use phrases like state of emergency." What are you hearing about residents' reaction there? How are they reacting to these preparations? Do they have the same fears that you have of a military-like response like we saw last time?

FRENCH: Well, I think what we've seen in the last few weeks is fear spreading through the community. Not only yesterday's announcement that we are in a state of emergency, but, you know, notifications sent home by local government officials, telling people to stock up on water and food. I think that fear drives people apart. And at a time when we need to be trying to work out how we come together as a community both in the short term and the long term, I think these are actually counterproductive. It's just too much fear going around.

SCIUTTO: I mean those warnings do sound alarming. How do you react when someone tells you to go get basic supplies to get through this? Pastor White, I know you've been meeting with protest organizers, you've been talking about how to protest safely within the law. What are you telling them to do exactly to avoid what we saw last time?

WHITE: Well, the first thing is that if the governor and his staff would have really paid attention to the organizers, they have access to go out and communicate with this community at large. And rather than issue a state of emergency, maybe they would have understood that this state is actually emerging. We've been meeting with the protesters. There's been several groups of protesters who originally were planning to respond and react and maybe in a violent way, but they've asked for an opportunity to dialogue with the police and to meet with law enforcement to find out non-violent ways. The Martin King Center from Atlanta has been in the city, and we've talked non- violent response. And so the city has actually been emerging towards non-violent and towards peaceful protesting and then we had this thrown in our faces.

SCIUTTO: Listening to both of you throughout, it seems it seems that you're saying that the protesters have learned lessons from August in terms of how they're going to protest, limit or try to prevent a violent response, but that law enforcement may not have. I wonder if that's your view and perhaps we could begin with you, Antonio.

FRENCH: Well, I worry. You know, one of the things that protest groups have been asking for is real change within the police departments, both Ferguson and some of those departments that made those awful decisions to bring in the heavy artillery early. None of that happened. So in many cases the same people who were in charge the last time are going to be in charge this time as well. So I hope we don't repeat the same mistakes. And what I do notice from being on the ground in August was that many times it was the police presence which actually changed the mood and escalated the situation. And so I worry. And we have an opportunity here to do it right and I hope we do it.

SCIUTTO: Antonio French, Pastor Robert White, thanks very much for joining us.

FRENCH: Thank you.

WHITE: Thanks for having us.

SCIUTTO: Coming up, head spinning allegations by Pennsylvania's top prosecutor. She said some state officials who worked on the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse case were themselves sharing hardcore porn on state computers.

Also, ahead, more breaking news: another woman is alleging that Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her decades ago. This latest accuser is a former supermodel, whose name you might recognize.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Tonight, stunning allegations about dozens of Pennsylvania officials, including some who investigated former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky as you probably now is now serving a 30-to-60 year sentence for sexually abusing more than a half dozen boys over a decade. It took years before he was charged and brought to trial. A lug that's drawn fire from many people. Now Pennsylvania's attorney general claims that many of the officials who worked on the Sandusky sex abuse case were at the exact same time breaking the law by using their work computers to share hardcore porn. On top of that, she said that a gag order is keeping her from completing her investigation. Here's CNN investigative correspondent Sara Ganim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dozens of state officials in Pennsylvania, many who worked to bring down the infamous child molester Jerry Sandusky have been caught exchanging crude pornographic emails written on state email accounts, state computers and on state time, according to the state's attorney general.

In all, more than 4,000 sexually explicit emails were circulated between about 50 people, many state employees, over a four-year period starting in 2008. Some of them at the very same time that the very same people were building a child sex abuse case against Sandusky. And the porn being passed around was not for the faint of heart.

KATHLEEN KANE, PENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: When I saw them, they literally took my breath away. And they are deplorable. Hard core, graphic, sometimes violent emails that had a string of videos and pictures depicting sometimes children, old women, some of them involved violent sexual acts against women.

Good morning.

GANIM: The emails were discovered by State Attorney General Kathleen Kane, who ran for office on the promise that she would investigate why it took three years to charge Sandusky after his first victim came forward. While looking into that, her office uncovered the pornographic emails. Those involved in the scandal include some of the biggest names in Pennsylvania's justice system, a state Supreme Court justice Seamus McCaffery, the State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan and one of the main Sandusky investigators Randy Feathers. The emails are so graphic, the chief justice of the State Supreme Court wrote that they are clearly obscene and may violate the crimes code section on obscenity." But now incredibly, Kane says she can't do a thing about it, can't investigate further, can't name any names that have not already been made public.

(on camera): But are you investigating this right now?

KANE: We are not investigating it.

GANIM: Why not?

KANE: I cannot investigate. I am being stopped from performing my duties as attorney general, my office is being stopped from certain investigations, and we are being stopped even from telling why.

KANE: My hands are tied and this will be frustrating for you because it's just as frustrating for me. My hands are tied because there are court orders that don't allow us to say certain things, which I believe the public needs to know.

GANIM (voice over): To understand why, you have to go back to a public and very bitter feud between Attorney General Kathleen Kane and the main prosecutor in the Sandusky case Frank Fina. It started with her criticism of how Fina handled Sandusky. The two have been lobbying allegations against each other about whether several cases have been handled correctly. As a result, Kane is now being investigated about whether she improperly leaked a memo about a case from 2009 that Fina handled. And according to the "Philadelphia Enquirer," a gag order in that case is keeping Kane from moving forward on the porn emails.

(on camera): As the state's top prosecutor ...

KANE: Yes.

GANIM: You're saying that there's a court order that's keeping you from investigating a case that you think and the chief justice on the state's Supreme Court thinks might be illegal.

KANE: That is correct.

GANIM (voice over): Kane says she believes she did the right thing. Frank Fina would not comment for this story.

(on camera): Do you feel that the system is being abused to protect certain people?

KANE: I knew that I was walking into public corruption, which again is why I ran. But I will tell you this, even I am shocked at the level of public corruption. I am shocked at how deep it goes and I am shocked at how powerful it is. I have never seen anything like this. It's breathtaking. It has been described by the people familiar with what is happening as shameful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Sara Ganim joins us now. Sara, great reporting. What can you tell us happened to the state employees involved in these emails?

GANIM: Well, Jim, most of the people have been - who have been publicly shamed, they lost their jobs, either resigning or being forced out. But the State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan, you saw him, he still has his job because according to published reports, the governor says there was no proof that he opened the emails. There are also people in the public sector, the private sector, I'm sorry, that still have their jobs, too.

SCIUTTO: And how about for the Pennsylvania attorney general? What's next for her?

GANIM: Well, she testified yesterday before the grand jury and now she waits to see if she'll be indicted. Remember, that's a whole another case about a grand jury leak. She's under investigation for that leak. And sources tell us that the order that she says that is preventing her from investigating these emails, it doesn't actually name any names, it's vague. But she says that she believes she can't take any chances because she could be held in contempt of court, possibly even jailed. Jim.

SCIUTTO: Alarming case, thanks very much to Sara Ganim. And we have more breaking news tonight. Another woman has come forward saying that Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her. This time, it's someone you may recognize. Janice Dickinson was a super model in the 1980s and more recently appeared on America's "Next Top Model." She now has come forward to say that Cosby sexually assaulted her in 1982. Dickinson joins more than a dozen other women who have said Cosby raped them. Cosby has repeatedly said these allegations are untrue. And we need to point out that he has never been prosecuted. Jean Casarez joins me now with more on this latest accusation. Really, Jean, I mean alarming to say the least. What is Dickinson saying exactly happened to her?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we have her in her own words. And let's first talk about that. A number of women have come forward. We've heard from them and the stories are strikingly similar. Modus operandi, you would say, the motive operation. And now, Janice Dickinson spoke out tonight on Entertainment Tonight. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANICE DICKINSON: After dinner in my room, he gave me wine and a pill and the next morning I woke up, and I wasn't wearing my pajamas. And I remembered before I passed out, that I had been sexually assaulted by this man. The last thing I remember was Bill Cosby, (NO SOUND) robe, opening his robe and getting on top of me. And I remember a lot of pain. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Now, Bill Cosby has only really spoken out once in all of this. It was in 2005, it was actually to the "National Enquirer." And he said, "I am not going to give in to people who try to exploit me because of my celebrity status." His lawyer, though, nine years later just this weekend spoke out saying that just because people are bringing back these allegations and they are saying these things from years gone by, it does not make them true.

SCIUTTO: It is shocking for sure. Charges, to be clear, were not brought in any of these cases. Do we know why that is?

CASAREZ: Well, I think for a number of reasons. Number one, we haven't heard, but for one woman that any of them went to police to then document and have a criminal investigation. But the one woman Andrea Constand who filed the civil lawsuit and there was a settlement, undisclosed amount, she did go to police in 2005 alleging that something had happened in 2004, and the district attorney -- then district attorney of Pennsylvania just came out yesterday speaking for the first time really in depth saying that a year had gone by and he didn't have the DNA evidence, he didn't have blood samples he needed to see if there were any drugs in her body. He didn't have that evidence and so he didn't believe, as he must under the law beyond a reasonable doubt that he could prove his case, thus no charges.

SCIUTTO: And coming up, an update on our breaking news tonight. The city of Buffalo bracing for more than 70 inches of snow before this early lake effect storm is over. A live update from Buffalo right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: An update now on our other breaking news story. More than 70 inches of snow expected to fall in Buffalo before this early lake- effect storm is over. The mayor says the city is ready, open and operational, with the exception of south Buffalo. Martin Savidge joins me now live with the latest. Martin, the mayor is saying the city is open and operational. Is that in fact the case that you're seeing there?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it is. I mean from what we've seen, this is the storm that's going right down through the center of Buffalo so the city itself actually is pretty much OK. In fact, we were landing at the airport, they only had like three inches. But it's when you go south, and not far south, by, say, a couple of miles, maybe five, you start running into this. And again, this is not the bad area. We've got a bit of a break here so the plows have been trying to make the most of it. I say plows. It's the front end loaders that are doing the heavy lifting. I just had a chat with one of the drivers, he's on his 16th hour. This is too much, actually, for the regular plows. They have got to lift it and dump it and put it into place. And a lot of places are putting it in dump trucks and hauling it out of town. They've got more snow than they know what to do with. This band is just a temporary break. Believe me, in other places, Jim, it is still coming down like crazy.

This is historic and dangerous. That according to city officials. There are people they know trapped on the New York thruway, there are also people just trapped on regular city streets. Many vehicles were abandoned and that's been the problem. The plows can't get through with the vehicles are still there. They're trying to haul them out. Jim.

SCIUTTO: And forecasters say more to come. Martin Savidge, thanks very much.

We want to get the latest now on other stories we're following. Susan Hendricks has a "360" news in business bulletin.

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, we start in New York where a man has been taken into custody in connection with Sunday's fatal subway incident that killed a 61-year-old man. No charges have been filed yet, but police say the victim was pushed from that subway platform and killed by an oncoming train.

The NFL says Minnesota Vikings player Adrian Peterson is suspended without pay for the rest of the season following allegations that he abused his four-year-old son. He plans to appeal this. Peterson was initially charged with felony child abuse but pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless assault.

And the Senate tonight voted against the measure that would have authorized construction of the controversial Keystone pipeline. 14 Democrats joined all 45 Republicans who voted to support the Canada to Texas pipeline. But the bill fell just one vote short of the 60 needed to pass. Republicans will likely try again, Jim, when they take control of the Senate come January.

And how about this? Oxford dictionaries has chosen "vape" as the word of the year. It's a noun meaning an electronic cigarette or similar device. Or a verb meaning to inhale and exhale the vapor from an e- sig. Oxford says the word more than doubled in use in 2014 and it beat out other contenders. Are you ready? "Bay" was also on the list, term of endearment, and slacktivism meaning low impact online activism. Now you know, Jim.

SCIUTTO: No, I'm learning. Thanks very much.

Thanks very much to Suzanne. That does it for us tonight. We're going to see you again at 11:00 p.m. Eastern. Soledad O'Brien's Black in America, Back & Blue, starts right now.